Abstract

In order to bridge the gap between theory and practice this dissertation discusses how we can recover the liberating ideologies specifically of New Historicism and its application to early modern texts. The goal of this approach is to have "modern" students connect to texts they feel are too far removed from their lives and, in doing so, help them develop the critical skills necessary for full participation in a democratic society.

By studying early modern society, students can see how past societal conflicts faced by an earlier society are mirrored in the current world. By fostering discussion of how the early modern culture dealt with these problems, students can then see that they, through their future decisions, can play a role in how the world progresses. This dissertation, therefore, works to offer a way of focusing a classroom studying early modern literature on this greater goal. Even though throughout this discussion I will be analyzing literature from the perspective of New Historicism, it is the pedagogical perspective that plays the most important role in this dissertation. Within the pedagogical discussion lies the heart of creating a classroom that makes studying early modern literature an important practice in the postmodern world by producing students critically aware of society.

My goal in this dissertation is not to create opposition between Pedagogical Theory and New Historicism, but, instead, to add my voice to the discussion, one which returns to the roots of New Historicism. I believe that to completely prepare students for democratic society, we must make the literature classroom an open place of learning where investigation of the social, cultural, and political implications of the text as well as the student and society's ideologies become the part of the course.